Mail and baggage catcher.



J. SGHMITZ.

MAIL AND BAGGAGE GATOHER. APPLICATION FILED JULY 25,1908.

Patented Dec. 1, 1908.

2 SHEEN-SHEET 1.

gomw r J. SGHMITZ.- MAIL AND BAGGAGE 0111 011153.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25,1908. 905,593. Patented Dec. 1,19%. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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sp ific t ns newer-22mmklia elitet jllec- 5 908 Q7 -w om e i k ow that .1, Joanna :ScHmr-z, a citizen .of the United States, residing :atj in the county of San Franciscoand State ofCalifornia, have invented, a-newand useful Mail andBaggageCatchern of which the following is :a'specification tin} suchfulhandclear termsas will enablethose, skilled in the art to construct and cuse the San Francisco,

same.

of delivering bags to the same platform.

An object of the device is to make a; catcher that i will safely and surely catch and which will be insuchi a position with respect :to the car as to be? easily loaded and unloaded by :the mail} deliver the bags, and

clerk.

A :further object of the invention is *to'} make a catcher that will be capable 20f side- .llivering .and cat ching heavy baggage,

out inj ury to 'the car, 'oreto the baggage.

Another obj eet of-the invention is to .protaken from one side of the carto the other as may be necessary for theseveral stations, since at, some of thestations the standard may the vide :a r device that can be *easily on one side orthe othertof-thetrack.

In the drawings,

This iinvention relates to a device wusedl for the purpose of catching -mail bags fromf .a stationary platform, and for the purpose within which :the (same numeral of .reference .is applied to athe same;

Figure 1 1s a plan view g -.wardly ii-extending prong ';10, a forwardly extending prong 11 Land s rearwardly extend- ;ing prong 12,1ea'chof which is i-n-a plane at a right angles \with the portion 6. The arm iwhichextends alongside the car is movable r tojbring the :bag catching ,devices into reach of the mail clerk and to bring the bag into position to be taken off the catcher by the ,station platform.

The catcher is held linthe position for de- ,liveringa bag by placing a bar 13 l over the .handle 14 0f the bag a catcher, said bar being held in place :by'meansofthe cleats 15 at 5 .each side of the car door, said bar being simply slid into the cleats.

The station bag holder -161is built up to a @height such'thatthe Ibag can be suspended "high "enough lto sbe :in position to have its rope caught by the forwardly projecting 1 prong 1110f itheibagcatcher, the upwardly :projecting prong .10 insuring the proper catching of the rope securedto-:the'bag,the edepressionsatathe 2j unction ,of the two prongs ginsnri-n-g tthe retention of the lbag after *the same rbeen pulled .ofi *-the station, since when a train .is moving very fast the bag swings a :great ideal as 'soon as the bag catcher .-.pic ks it up. The station has the rails 17,, l8-and 119,Ythe two latter of which are on :the same level :and project ahead and eto J-the rear of @the supports 20 and "21, "said supports being curved over the top. The -.rail';117 .is placed under the top of the of a ar doora d art of a car, and-showing 1supportsi20iand-i 2l and above the other rails,

the station platform, tion of a part of form,

is a modification of the catcher, a slde elevation of a portion of a showing the catcher in elevation,

bags,

device.

The numeral 2 represents the car having of which are secured in which the bag catcher is pivoted. It will be noted that the arm of the bag catcher 6 which extends along has a long shank 7 at one end and a short shank 8 at the other, a pin after the The forward end of the bag catcher 6 has an upthe door 3 at the sides the boxes 4 and 5,

the side of the car 9 holding the bag catcher in place same has been placed in the boxes.

.it' being of about the same length .as the others. i

The rail T7 :is split at Leach end, in .order use with the modified form of the catcher, shown in Fig. 6, which will be explained later.

On the rail 18 there are two small pivoted plates 23, and on the rail 19 there is a small ivoted plate 24 like the plate 23. The obect of these plates is to support heavy baggage or mail bags. The plates are so pivoted as to turn out of the way of the catcher when the train passes and picks up the baggage.

In the modified form of catcher shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the car is illustrated and has the rails 26, on which slides the frame 27 said frame having downwardly projecting pins 28 near the center of each end. The object of these pins is to prevent the frame 27 from being pushed too far out of the car,

.that -.a l bag :may :be suspended therefrom for 3% to allow the bag-catcher to the plate 29'secu'redto the floor of the car near the center thereof the name 2? there is second frame 30, which has the cleats 31 under the siderail of-tlie I frame 2?, to prevent it frombeing pulled out of the frame 27. The frame 27 has cleats 32 under the rail 26 to hold it" in its place. On the frame there is placed the bag-catcher 33, which is pivoted on the pin be rotated in a horizontal plane 130, the object of which is to permit the bag-catcher to receive and discharge the bag in either direction. The

pin is used to hold the bag-catcher in either position, said pin passing through a hole in the top of the frame 30.

The bag-catcher proper, 33, is provided with a base 33, and the upwardly extending plates 33. The upwardly extendingplates 33 have a forwardly extending prong 36, which has a notch 37 nearthe base thereof. Above the prong 36 there is an upwardly extending prong 38. At the rear of the plate 33 there is a rearwardly extending prong 39. The object of the extending prongs at the front of the bag-catching device is to catch and hold the bag suspended from the station platform. The object of) the rearwardly extending prong 39 is to supj port a bag when the same isto be delivered from the train.

When heavy baggage or large mail bags are to be handled, the frame shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is used with the modified form of the invention. 7 This frame has the rails 40, which are secured together by means of the two plates 41, said plates having depending ends 41 to prevent the frame from being ing large links.

pulled sidewise off the bag-catcher. The rails 40 also have the two curved plates 42 secured thereto. Near the center of one of the rails 41 there is secured a chain 43 havj On the other rail 40 there is secured opposite the chain 43 a double hook 44. When a heavy bag is to be delivered from the train it is placed on the curved j plates 4-2, the chain is then passed around acting as a stop. ln j 1 1 vtl iiill lg, Pulled down tightly, and one of the links is caught by the hook 44. When the bagha's" been securely fastened to the bagholder, the same is then placed on the plates 33, and the bag-catcher is then ready to deliver the baggage or bag to the station platform; the plates fl striking the support and causing the bag to be discharged from the extending prongs of the bag-catcher.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. In adevice for catching and discharging objects, an arm carrying a forwardly projecting prong, an upwardly projecting prong and a rearwardly projecting prong; means to secure the arm to the side of a car; and a station platform adapted to pull an object off the rear arm and hold an object in position to be caught by the forward arm.

2. In a device for catching and delivering objects, an arm carrying a forwardly projecting prong, an upwardly projecting arm and a rearwardly projecting arm, and means to secure the arm to the side of a car.

3. In a device for catching and delivering objects, an arm carrying a forwardly projecting prong, an upwardly projecting prong and a rearwardly projecting prong, means to secure the arm to the side of tion support fora mail bag and comprising a pair of curved members adapted to permit the catcher to pass under them, a horizontally extending rail secured to the ends of the curved supports, and a horizontally ex tending rail secured to the curved supports opposite to the one secured on the ends thereof, the ends of each rail projecting beyond the curved supports.

In testimony whereof I have set my hand this 19 day of June A. D. 1908, in the presence of the two subscribed witnesses.

. JOSEPH SCHMITZ.

Witnesses FRANK P. MEDINA, W. T. Hess.

a car, and a sta- 

